Was trying out my violins (let’s call them: mr. lousy, ms. ok and mr. good) again tonight and the uncanny feeling hit me yet again – why does it feel so much easier to play in tune on mr. lousy and ms. ok, compared to mr. good? (mr. lousy bought for experimenting and lending to students; trained on ms. ok for most part of my life; mr. good is on loan since last year) Then it just hit upon me to measure the string lengths, and voila, mr. good violin has a longer string length (most probably due to my own adjustment of the bridge when experimenting with different strings) compared to mr. lousy and ms. ok. Went online for more information and with great relief, adjusted mr. good’s string length to the “standard” 328mm.
Links for future reference:
Joseph Curtin Studios: Set-up and Adjustments
Violins & Violinist, Stop – Neck – and String Length
As usual, got distracted by other articles, and uncovered these gems for “preservation” as well.
But now, and finally, what of the teaching of appreciation? My answer is that for the sake of the children and of music do not try to teach it; although you might try to educate it. That is, don’t try to describe it or to explain it into the children, but try to bring it out of the children.
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“Appreciation,” says Plato, “is not capable of expression like other branches of study; but after long intercourse with the thing itself, and after it has been lived with, suddenly, as when the fire leaps up and the light kindles, it is found in the soul and feeds itself there.”
The Teaching of Appreciation of Music
By Max Schoen, Ph.D., Carnegie Institute of Technology
